


Out In The Open

by TheDoctorIsIcecube



Series: The Prince and Servant [2]
Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Engagement, Homophobia, M/M, Politics, Royalty, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 13:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9184582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/TheDoctorIsIcecube
Summary: Charlie, the isolated Prince of England, has won the right to continue his relationship with Matteusz under one condition only. He now has to prepare Matteusz for the onslaught of the courts and the press before their wedding.





	

Teaching Matteusz how to act like a prince was proving harder than Charlie had expected. Given a few months more time, he was sure he could have Matteusz behaving like a noble. But in the time they had, it was proving incredibly difficult.

He loved Matteusz, which was the first distraction. He kept trying to let him off the lessons early or just getting distracted by how attractive he was. The second problem was the one that made clarifying his love necessary, because it was just a matter of Matteusz's upbringing. Charlie was a noble. He'd been a prince all his life. Matteusz was from a working class family and had emigrated to England.

Matteusz didn't see the point in eating with five different sets of cutlery. He didn't see why he had to learn what colours represented what occasions and why Charlie needed fifteen different ceremonial uniforms. Honestly, Charlie didn't see the point of it all either. But it was his life. What he'd grown up with. He'd never really questioned it until Matteusz had. He honestly didn't even know why he had a uniform. He wasn't part of any form of the military or any uniformed body. But he had to own their uniforms, apparently, just in case. He had uniforms for guards that had been disbanded years ago, for goodness' sake. And he had to help Matteusz learn what they were all for.

"Shall we just go with something easy today?" Charlie was sick of uniforms and cutlery and royal titles, frankly. He just wanted a simple lesson so that he could spend some more time cuddling later. "I'll teach you how to bow properly."

"You want to see my backside?" Matteusz asked with a grin. Charlie laughed. Even though this was probably endlessly boring for him, Matteusz always stayed so cheerful.

"Well, that's just a positive of the exercise," he teased. "But in all seriousness, this'll be quick. We can actually have some time to ourselves today..."

Matteusz smiled at him, and they began their lesson. It was, as always, endless. Charlie had never put too much thought into the gestures of respect he'd just picked up from balls from the moment he was born.

By the end of maybe an hour or so, he had Matteusz bowing as smoothly and regally as if he'd been doing it his whole life. Mostly. It would do for the wedding, he was sure. "You're getting a lot better," he said, managing a smile. "I think that will do for today, in fact. I don't know about you, but this bowing is beginning to give me backache."

Matteusz grinned back. "If you're that bothered, we could not do these lessons," he said. Charlie could tell he was joking, because he knew just how important this was for their future.

"I wish. But we have to, you know that." He stepped closer to Matteusz, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Do this, and we get to be together."

"We are together," Matteusz said, bending down a little so it was easier for him to kiss him. "We just have to prove it to everyone else."

"And we will," Charlie said firmly. "And we will do it soon. I only wish that my parents would have simply let us be in a relationship without this whole marriage nonsense..." He really felt like he was rushing Matteusz into a situation he would eventually be unhappy with, and he didn't want that. He wanted Matteusz's happiness above everything else.

"I do not really mind," Matteusz said. "You are more important than doing things in the order I like best. Is also quite nice not being a servant."

"Mm. And we can behave like a couple in public, now." Charlie smiled properly now, leaning up to kiss Matteusz. "I say this lesson is over now. What shall we do instead?"

"I imagine you want to read," Matteusz said with a smile, "and I will sit with you, just as we always do." They had done this before his mother saw them together, and it was better now they didn't have to constantly worry about being discovered.

"That sounds perfect to me." Charlie stole another kiss, then pulled away to seek out a book from his bookshelf. He had so many, but there were a few favourites that he always returned to. Now, though, he had to read new things. With the lessons he had to teach Matteusz and then the time he spent with him just doing nothing, he had spent significantly less time studying than he should have. He didn't want to fall behind, so he had to read new material and stay on top of everything. So, he selected a history book and sat down on his bed. Matteusz rested his head in his lap, the rest of his exceptionally long body curled up next to him.

He read for a while, but he always found it harder to concentrate when Matteusz was around. He was just so attractive, and staring at him was usually more interesting than economic or foreign policies of other countries. Eventually, Charlie set his book down, and took up the much more fun task of stroking Matteusz's hair. This was something that could easily occupy him for hours. His hair was always soft, and it always smelt nice and it was just generally his favourite way to occupy his time, because it wasn't quite as demanding as kissing. It was also very innocently intimate, so his mother couldn't accuse Matteusz of corruption if she walked in on it. 

And Matteusz definitely seemed to enjoy it, as well. He'd closed his eyes, and there was a small, contented smile on his lips. Charlie wanted to say he looked beautiful.

At the moment, though, he just couldn't break the silence. It was wonderful to just lie here with nothing that could hurt them, nothing that could pull them away from each other. No rich people watching them at every meal. No impending engagement announcement (six days now), no inevitable interviews or ruthless press to guide Matteusz through.

After a while, Matteusz shifted a little, reaching to grasp Charlie's hand. "You are frowning," he said softly. "Why?"

"I'm sorry," he said, squeezing Matteusz's hand. "I'm just worried about everything to come. I'm worried that people will dislike you as much as my mother does, and I'm worried they will dislike me."

"I do not care if they dislike me." Matteusz sat up, cupping Charlie's face with his free hand. "And if they dislike you, they are wrong. You are not a dislikable person."

"You should care!" He said, pulling away from Matteusz's hand. He couldn't let himself be distracted from something so important. "You will be their king when I am too, there is little you can do to stop that. If they hate you because you don't care about their opinions, you will destroy all respect they have for my family."

"Calm down. Please." Matteusz's hands rested on his shoulders, slid gently down his arms. "I am sorry. I did not mean to say wrong thing. I will make sure they like me, yes? I will be good prince, and your people will have no reason to dislike me."

Charlie looked away. He couldn't bear to think about the alternative to the people liking Matteusz. He knew that they would hate both of them for who they were, of course, and they would also be hated for being the end of this royal line.

"We will get through his together." Matteusz's voice was gentle, insistent, and Charlie found himself starting to believe that he was right. "We can do this."

"We will try," he promised, because that was all he could promise. He could try to do this correctly. Not everyone would like them, that was impossible, but there were right and wrong ways to be disliked, and he could do everything in his power to make sure they were disliked in the right way.

And, he reminded himself, there were plenty of people who didn't give a damn that he intended to marry a boy. So perhaps things wouldn't be too bad after all.


End file.
